McCartney v Oversley House Management

McCartney was required to be on duty for 24 hours, four days a week. Her main duties were performed from 8am to 6.30pm and for the rest of the hours she was on call. Following the decision of the ECJ in Landhaupstadt Keil v Jaeger (2004 ICR 1528, ECJ), the EAT decided that the full 24 hours were her working time. At 96 hours a week this exceeded the permitted average of 48 hours under the Working Time Regulations 1998.

Although she worked more than six hours a day, she did not have either a 20-minute break, or an 11-hour break every 24 hours. A break had to be a time during which she was not interrupted or at her employer's disposal. Lastly, when her salary was divided by 96 hours a week, it was below the minimum wage.